[04/24/08 - 11:40 AM]'Law & Order,' Featuring the Farewell Appearance of Jesse L. Martin, Locks Up Its Best Numbers Since Its Season PremiereNBC spins the numbers for Wednesday, April 23.

[via press release from NBC]

'LAW & ORDER,' FEATURING THE FAREWELL APPEARANCE OF JESSE L. MARTIN, LOCKS UP ITS BEST NUMBERS SINCE ITS SEASON PREMIERE

'LAW & ORDER,' FEATURING THE FAREWELL APPEARANCE OF JESSE L. MARTIN, LOCKS UP ITS BEST NUMBERS SINCE ITS SEASON PREMIERE

'LAW & ORDER' IS A DOMINANT #1 IN ADULTS 18-49, TOTAL VIEWERS AND ALL OTHER KEY MEASURES, BEATING THE ABC-CBS COMPETITION COMBINED IN 18-49

'DEAL OR NO DEAL' HITS A 10-WEEK HIGH FOR NBC IN BOTH 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS IN ITS TWO-HOUR TIME PERIOD

'LAW & ORDER' AND 'DEAL' PROPEL NBC TO #2 FOR THE NIGHT IN 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS, BEHIND ONLY 'IDOL'-BOOSTED FOX

BURBANK, Calif. � April 24, 2008 � Last night, "Law & Order," featuring the farewell appearance of Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green, locked up its highest 18-49 rating and biggest total viewership since its season premiere in January, according to "fast affiliate-based" "live plus same day" viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research (pending updates).

"Law & Order" paced NBC to a #2 finish for the night in both adults 18-49 and total viewers, behind only "American Idol"-boosted Fox.

Last night from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Law & Order" (3.7 rating, 10 share in adults 18-49, 12.6 million viewers overall) dominated its time period, winning every key category and matching or topping the combined ABC-CBS competition in adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and other key measures. In adults 18-49, "Law & Order" scored a 76 percent margin of victory over CBS's encore telecast of "CSI: NY" in second place (3.7 vs. a 2.1 for the "CSI: NY" rebroadcast) and a 147 percent margin over ABC's first-run "Men in Trees" (3.7 vs. 1.5).

"Law & Order" scored its highest 18-49 rating and largest total viewer tally since its 18th season premiere on January 2 (3.8/9 in 18-49, 13.5 million viewers).

From 8-10 p.m. ET, "Deal or No Deal" (2.3/6, 9.9 million viewers overall) delivered NBC's highest 18-49 rating and total viewer result in this time period in 10 weeks (since February 13). Pending updates, "Deal" ranked #2 in the two-hour slot in 18-49, total viewers and other key measures, behind only Fox's "Idol"-boosted lineup.

Note that all national ratings are "live plus same day" unless otherwise indicated.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: What follows is the afternoon update with the final national Nielsen ratings.]

UPDATE: 'LAW & ORDER,' FEATURING THE FAREWELL APPEARANCE OF JESSE L. MARTIN, LOCKS UP ITS BEST NUMBERS SINCE ITS SEASON PREMIERE

UPDATE: 'LAW & ORDER,' FEATURING THE FAREWELL APPEARANCE OF JESSE L. MARTIN, LOCKS UP ITS BEST NUMBERS SINCE ITS SEASON PREMIERE

'LAW & ORDER' IS A DOMINANT #1 IN ADULTS 18-49, TOTAL VIEWERS AND ALL OTHER KEY MEASURES, BEATING THE ABC-CBS COMPETITION COMBINED IN 18-49

'DEAL OR NO DEAL' HITS A 10-WEEK HIGH FOR NBC IN BOTH 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS IN ITS TWO-HOUR TIME PERIOD

'LAW & ORDER' AND 'DEAL' PROPEL NBC TO #2 FOR THE NIGHT IN 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS, BEHIND ONLY 'IDOL'-BOOSTED FOX

BURBANK, Calif. � April 24, 2008 � Last night, "Law & Order," featuring the farewell appearance of Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green, locked up its highest 18-49 rating and biggest total viewership since its season premiere in January, according to updated "live plus same day" viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

"Law & Order" paced NBC to a #2 finish for the night in both adults 18-49 and total viewers, behind only "American Idol"-boosted Fox.

Last night from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Law & Order" (3.7 rating, 10 share in adults 18-49, 12.7 million viewers overall) dominated its time period, winning every key category and matching or topping the combined ABC-CBS competition in adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and other key measures. In adults 18-49, "Law & Order" scored a 76 percent margin of victory over CBS's encore telecast of "CSI: NY" in second place (3.7 vs. a 2.1 for the "CSI: NY" rebroadcast) and a 147 percent margin over ABC's first-run "Men in Trees" (3.7 vs. 1.5).

"Law & Order" scored its highest 18-49 rating and largest total viewer tally since its 18th season premiere on January 2 (3.8/9 in 18-49, 13.5 million viewers).

From 8-10 p.m. ET, "Deal or No Deal" (2.4/6, 10.0 million viewers overall) delivered NBC's highest 18-49 rating and total viewer result in this time period in 10 weeks (since February 13). "Deal" ranked #2 in the two-hour slot in 18-49, total viewers and other key measures, behind only Fox's "Idol"-boosted lineup.